HP cabinet's expansion cancelled

The first cabinet expansion of the two-month-old Congress government in Himachal Pradesh which was scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled and is likely to take place next week, an official said here.

The first cabinet expansion of the two-month-old Congress government in Himachal Pradesh which was scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled and is likely to take place next week, an official said here.

Former telecom minister Sukh Ram's son Anil Sharma was to be inducted as a minister in the 10-member cabinet, led by chief minister Virbhadra Singh.

The cabinet expansion is likely to take place next week, a government spokesperson told IANS.

There are still two vacancies in the cabinet, he added.

Virbhadra Singh, who had been chief minister in 1983, 1985, 1993, 1998 and 2003, took the oath of office for sixth time December 25, 2012 along with his nine cabinet colleagues.